RankiaPro Europe Awards 2026 – unveiling the winners
19 JUN, 2026
By Sofía Vargas from RankiaPro Europe
RankiaPro Europe is pleased to announce the winners of the VI edition of the RankiaPro Europe Awards, an annual recognition that celebrates the outstanding professionals who continue to shape and elevate the European investment industry through their dedication, expertise, and integrity.
The awards ceremony took place on Thursday, June 18th, during the Gastronomic Dinner of the Funds Experience Europe, which is being held in Valencia from June 17th to 19th. This year’s edition of the Funds Experience is our largest to date, bringing together 16 asset managers and more than 120 professionals from across Europe.
We would like to extend our sincere congratulations and gratitude to all the nominees. Their commitment, insight, and professionalism continue to drive the industry forward in a complex and ever-evolving environment. These awards are a testament to the impact they make every day.
Without further ado, let's proceed to meet the four winners of this year's RankiaPro Europe Awards: Sales Manager of the Year, Fund Manager of the Year, Advisor of the Year & Fund Selector of the Year.
Sales Manager of the Year
The finalists are:
- Isabel Ortega from Alken Asset Management
- Romain Lippe from IVO Capital Partners
- Andrea Bertocchini from La Française
And the winner is...
Andrea Bertocchini's career embodies exactly what this award seeks to recognise: a sales professional whose success is built on consistency, trust and genuine client relationships. With over twenty years in asset management, Bertocchini's path has taken him from Carmignac and Chahine Capital to BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management and TOBAM, before returning to La Française, where he was appointed Branch Manager in 2024. Across the Benelux, Nordic and Italian markets, he has combined a deep knowledge of real and listed assets with a strong understanding of cross-cultural client dynamics. His philosophy, that clients trust the person behind the brochure rather than the brochure itself, has guided a career focused on staying close to clients through every market cycle. As he leads La Française's expansion across the full spectrum of strategies, from traditional fixed income to private debt and real estate, Bertocchini stands out as a Sales Manager whose human-centred approach continues to deliver lasting value for investors and his organisation alike.
To learn more about Andrea's career and approach to client relationships, read his full interview here.
Fund Manager of the Year
The finalists are:
- Frederik Fischer from Allianz Global Investors
- Kristofer Barrett from Carmignac
- Marc Blanc from Ofi Invest Asset Management
And the winner is...
Marc Blanc's recognition as Best Fund Manager of the Year reflects the rigour and consistency that define his approach to high yield investing. As High Yield Portfolio Manager at Ofi Invest AM since 2014, and a CFA Charterholder with a master's in finance from EDHEC Business School, Blanc combines deep credit expertise with a disciplined, research-driven process. His management of the Ofi Invest Euro High Yield strategy relies on a dual top-down and bottom-up framework, supported by a team of fifteen credit analysts covering over a thousand issuers across the European speculative high yield universe. By balancing core long-term positions with tactical opportunities, while applying strict ESG exclusions and active risk management, Blanc has built a portfolio capable of navigating volatile markets without losing sight of diversification and conviction. His career path, from credit analysis at Société Générale CIB to investor relations and now portfolio management, underscores a thorough, fundamentals-first philosophy that has made him a standout fund manager this year.
To learn more about Marc's career and investment approach, read his full interview here.
Advisor of the Year
The finalists are:
- Bryan Elbaz from Alpha Advisory
- Baptiste Langle from Dubly Transatlantique Gestion
- Emilie Fleury-Caduc from Justae - Gestion Privée
And the winner is...
Bryan Elbaz's recognition as Best Advisor of the Year reflects a career built on structuring complex financial strategies with both analytical rigour and a long-term perspective. After studying Econometrics and Finance in Boston and completing an MBA in London with a focus on Private Equity, Elbaz began his career at Eurazeo, where he contributed to launching a private debt strategy designed to support company growth without equity dilution. He went on to join Flexam Invest, part of Kartesia Group, focusing on deal origination and due diligence, before joining Norman K, where he helped structure the firm's asset finance strategy. In 2025, he founded Alpha Advisory, an independent firm covering venture capital, fundraising, private equity allocation and asset finance. For Elbaz, the qualities that define a good advisor, integrity, sound judgment, communication and emotional intelligence, are the same principles that have shaped his own path, making this award a fitting recognition of his approach to client-focused advisory.
To learn more about Bryan's career and approach to financial advisory, read his full interview here.
Fund Selector of the Year
The finalists are:
- François Gazier from Haussmann Patrimoine
- Christophe Jaubert from Mediolanum International Funds
- Barbara Katzdobler from Wiener Stadtwerke
And the winner is...
Barbara Katzdobler's award as Best Fund Selector of the Year recognises a career defined by analytical rigour, curiosity and a long-term perspective on portfolio construction. She began her career in private banking before moving into portfolio management, where early exposure to manager selection sparked a lasting interest in fund analysis. Today, as Senior Treasury and Portfolio Manager at Wiener Stadtwerke, one of Austria's largest infrastructure and utility companies, she draws on experience gained as a fund manager at an investment boutique focused on fund-of-fund management and manager selection. A Certified Portfolio Manager and Certified ESG Analyst, Katzdobler holds a Master of Science in Business Administration and is currently pursuing further studies in sustainable leadership and innovation management. Her approach to fund selection emphasises a holistic reading of risk and performance metrics, consistency across full market cycles, and the discipline to look beyond short-term results, qualities that have shaped both her career and the standards she brings to evaluating funds.
To learn more about Barbara's career and approach to fund selection, read her full interview here.
Selection Process
The four categories honored at the RankiaPro Europe awards ceremony stem from our regular Professional of the Month interview series.
Throughout the year, we showcase distinct individuals, namely as Fund Manager, Sales Manager, Advisor and Fund Selector, on our website for our readers' benefit. As the year draws to an end, the 12 professionals within each category become eligible for the respective award.
The recipient for each category is determined through a combination of public voting, website traffic, and social media engagement. RankiaPro facilitated online polls for a duration of one month, urging our readers and broader network to participate. We want to thank you all for your overwhelming participation, with more than 2.000 votes.
In addition to the public vote, we analyze the interview's website traffic and its impact on social media platforms like LinkedIn. These three factors are amalgamated and assigned appropriate weights to calculate the final score, which ultimately determines the winner.
Congratulations to the winners of the RankiaPro Awards Europe VI edition!
Related articles
How to prepare for 2050: Arup identifies the structural shifts that will redefine investment, work, and territoryBy Joanna Piwko
UK inflation undershoots again, easing pressure on Bank of England – for nowBy Luke Bartholomew Bartholomew